Animscition

I’m currently reading over Cavern of Youth one final time before publishing it on Amazon. The hardest part about writing is editing, but this time I’m having a lot of fun with it. Fortunately, I had two editors for the first third of the novel. I also did a better job of writing the book this time around so there aren’t nearly as many issues to find. The feedback I’ve   Read More ...

My wife and I just finished watching a movie called Little Big Soldier. It’s a hilarious film starring Jackie Chan. The plot is pretty complex. A war just ended and Jackie captured a survivor, the general of the opposing army. He takes the general as his captive and the two share some hilarious experiences. I loved the film and laughed from beginning to end. One of my issues with Chinese   Read More ...

Writers expect reviews. It’s a given. When you create anything online nowadays, you can almost always expect someone to respond. Smart writers expect bad reviews. I read a quote on someone’s website yesterday that said, “It’s not difficult to get a review. It’s really easy to get one star reviews.” Ain’t that the truth? But it’s not a bad thing. Getting a one star review means someone actually purchased your   Read More ...

I have to learn how to think in terms of writing a novel. I watch so much anime and read so much manga that I often write my stories the way the artist do. I can’t help it, but I find the way they do things interesting. For example, during fights, it’s likely that an extended period of time will pass where characters will talk. They’ll even show flashbacks. Sure,   Read More ...

Advertising is hard. I don’t know how the guys on Mad Men do it. I had to jump right in it with both feet because I had little choice. I’m an indie author. I exemplify “independent” in every possible way. I have no agent, no publicist, no major publshing house behind me doing the heavy lifting so I can focus on nothing but writing. All I have are some close   Read More ...

I think I’ve been stressing over writing novels too much lately. Grace Elliot recently did a guest post for gaining readership. One of the things she speaks about is cranking out enough novels to gain a larger audience. Similar thoughts have been on my mind a lot. So much that they were becoming destructive. Normally, I’m the type of writer that can sit down for an hour and crank out   Read More ...

I ran into another author on the web *digital crash*. This time it’s Grace Elliot. I received a blurb for Eulogy’s Secret, so I’m pretty excited about the book myself. You can see the Jane Austen influence in the cover. Want some advice on writing a novel? Here’s Grace: Word count or time target – which is more productive? The key to success (or one of them!) is getting the   Read More ...

There’s a difference. Authors that write for themselves find the process therapeutic and stress free. Writing without having an audience in mind makes things fun and adventurous. Those that write with the intent of publishing and marketing their books make the process a job. The central focus is to create something readers like so they’ll want to continue with the series or tell a friend about the book. I don’t know if   Read More ...

I was fortunate enough to meet a writer by the name of Tareq Hassan. He’s the author of Trade–a mystery and thriller with so many details and insights to the CIA, you’ll wonder what the author really knows. Tareq was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me about his novel. You can read the interview below. Tell us about your book. Trade is a spy thriller and follows   Read More ...

I’m working on two manuscripts currently. My editor has Book 2 of the Barcode series, Cavern of Youth, and I’m slowly writing New War Order, Book 3. I’m a bit ashamed to admit this, but I experimented with the Hero’s Journey for Book 2. For those that don’t know, this journey is a cycle that heroes go through. I won’t bore you, but just think Harry Potter or Avatar. Anything   Read More ...